


hope seeking.

by tendergreeks



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: ? - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Hope's Peak Academy (Dangan Ronpa), Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Comedy, F/M, Female Reader, More tags will be added later, Romance, Slow Burn, Spoilers, also, but junko doesnt like, go way to see where the story is headed by checking the tags!, i'll add more tags and warnings as i go on, kill the world as a whole, kind of, kind of again, like really really slow burn, reader is also shsl chemist, there IS despair
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2019-10-23 02:55:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17675090
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tendergreeks/pseuds/tendergreeks
Summary: "nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood.now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less."-Marie Curie





	1. Hypothesis: one step forward..

**Author's Note:**

> this is almost like 5k words n its only the first chapter...oof.  
> ill try to get chapter 2 out as fast as i can and of course comments and kudos are appreciated!!

Excluding the muted tapping of your fingers against the laptop keys, the classroom was idly silent. Sunlight cast a honeysuckle backdrop to the room, giving the much-needed comfort and warmth, but the glare it’s causing on your fluorescent screen is making it even harder to type up your research paper. Sitting at the window seat does have its downsides.

Including you, there were only four people in the classroom. Exempting the students in the classroom, there was supposedly twelve students from the 79th-A class on campus. There are 17 students in your class in total.

Three weeks. It’s been three weeks.

Three weeks since you walked through the golden gates of this highschool, and yet you barely even know who your homeroom teacher is(they haven't even shown up since the first day).

Three weeks since the mild-mannered introductions of your classmates, yet you barely even began to interact with them.

Three weeks since you decided upon the desk the farthest to the left, near the window, as your designated seat, and typed away at your research paper. 

Three weeks since school started and school didn't even damn start yet.

Not that you were complaining! No no of course not! As much as you wouldn't openly admit it, it was nice, being outside of your lab for once. In those brief moments you looked up from your research gave you a sense of enthusiasm, accomplishment filling your chest. Draping over you like a warm blanket. The thought that you’ve finally made it to the one place that would have you set for life.

And the fresh taiyaki they had at the school store was a nice plus.

Besides, the remainder of your classmates seemed to have no complaints!

_“Geez!”_

 

Well….most of them.

The sudden noise amongst the silence and your thoughts startled you. You promptly closed your laptop and looked forward.

The girl in front of you (Akamatsu Kaede...you think?) suddenly turned around to face you, a scrunched brow in your direction. “ Hey-I know we haven’t talked much but- don’t you think this is a little….I don’t know... _weird_?” Her fingers twirling the strands of her hair as she whispered.

You blink.”Umm...what’s weird, exactly?”

She waves her hands around as if referring to a secret only you both know before looking around the classroom. “ _This!_ The whole _class_! Why isn’t anyone here?!” 

Personal space be damned it seemed, as her hands somehow found its’ way to your desk, a little too close to your laptop. Out of an act of survival, you quickly diverted your gaze from her piercing one, scratching your cheek absentmindedly. 

“Maybe...they just didn’t want to come? It’s not like they have to anyways.” You say. 

She doesn’t seem convinced and gives a sigh out of frustration.”Why wouldn’t they attend class-isn’t that the whole reason for high school? To hang out, have classes, and become friends? _Ugh_ -why attend Hope’s Peak Academy if you're not gonna show up!”

You couldn’t exactly _blame_ her for asking that-it was pretty a good question. If you were enrolled to probably the _best school of the nation_ , why not show up? But if you were to ask that to someone else (with the same accusing tone she was giving you) that would just be hypocritical. 

After the second day of school, when it was clear that attendance wasn’t a worry in anyone’s mind, you skipped class to explore campus. Just yesterday some hall monitor caught you wandering about and had to hide out in class the rest of the day. On the fifth day of school you spent time in the ridiculously large library, on the sixth-in the well-funded school labs, and just last week you were out of town for a few days for a conference. 

So yeah, _maybe_ you weren’t exactly taking full advantage of what this school had to offer, or the ‘full high school experience’. But then again-why does it matter? It’s not like you’re at fault because- 

“...A-attendance isn’t mandatory, actually..” 

Both of your heads turned once a meek voice met your ears. 

“Um…..what?”Kaede said.

“Attendance isn’t mandatory..” He reiterates.

The boy in question is….well...you can’t really see most of his face with it hidden behind the black cap he wore. _Wait- are you even allowed to wear hats?_

His hair, which seemed to be black? Dark blue? You couldn’t tell, did peak out a bit from under his cap it seemed. And his cheeks had the same hue of powdered phosphorus.

Now that you have a good look at him...his face is really red. Is he okay?

You must have been staring because before you knew it, he angled his face a bit away from you. 

You cleared your throat and move on.

“Well it’s what he said”, you continued, “attendance isn’t mandatory, so no one really _has_ to show up. As long as you’re working on something talent related at least.”

The boy next to you gave a nod, confirming what you’ve said as Kaede (still not sure if that’s her name) blew out a sigh. “...At my middle school, all of my classmates used to hang out with each other during break…”, Her gaze moved downwards as she spoke.”And sometimes on the weekends..they would even come to my concerts.” 

You sat awkwardly in your seat with your gaze concentrated on your desk. Neither of you spoke after that for a bit. You assumed that the conversation was all said and done, but Kaede was still seated backward in her chair facing you and the Mr.Baseball-cap-boy never picked the book he was reading back up, instead, his head was softly resting in his forefinger and thumb, deep in thought. 

You didn’t really know what to do at this point, but you were too afraid to look up from your position and see Kaede’s sorrowful face, even if you thought the conversation was kind of...stupid. You weren’t really sure if stupid was the right word for it, but it didn’t exactly make much sense to you. Everyone comes to Hope’s Peak because they have a special talent. Hope’s Peak studies and cultivates talent. And if everyone is always learning in a classroom and doing ‘normal’ high school activities, how are they able to cultivate their ‘special’ talents? It seemed simple to you: they don’t attend class and Hope’s Peak won’t enforce it. It’s a win-win for both parties involved.

Apparently not, you think, seeing Kaede’s expression from the corner of your vision. If it was that simple, then she would be happy with this too. And you wouldn’t be feeling a soft pang in your chest from her current face. This just didn’t make sense. 

It was times like these you realize, that you wish you were back home in your lab. You understood everything there; there was a place for everything, and everything was always in its place. Chemistry had set ground rules you could work with. Socializing...not really. But Professor Akiyama could. He was always really good at this. 

_‘You could do anything you set your mind to,y’know, he used to say, but you’re so stubborn, you probably don’t see it yet’._

Ugh.

“Well”, the boy says facing you both, “we could..look for them?” 

Kaede closed her eyes, then slowly opening them again,” How are we supposed to do that? I barely remember their names-or how they look..”

_I remembered your name!.... I think._

But then you remember something. It was given to all the first years at the entrance ceremony on the first day-you didn’t exactly think you’d need it, but you guess now it’s pretty handy. 

You sat up and moved your hand to your lab coat pocket. “We could use this!”, you said, punctuated by (accidentally) setting it loudly on your desk. Someone in the back of the classroom made a noise of displeasure.

“O-oh I forgot about that actually..” The boy said. He stood and moved slightly so he could see the screen, but not too close to be standing right next to you. 

“You’re right! We cou--actually what is that?” Kaede asked. 

You turned on the device.”It’s the student handbook. They give this to you once you enter Hope’s Peak for the first time, but there’s something I noticed a few days ago.”

As Kaede questioned what it was exactly, the screen came to life and went to the student directory. The boy continued where you left off.

“...In each student handbook there contains a student directory. There, you can find all of the student profiles for your class.” 

“It has the name, profile picture, and little tidbits on the student.” You demonstrated this by sliding through the profiles. Kaede looked on until your idea dawned on her and her mouth forms a grin.

“Then we could look for everyone in our class with this!”Kaede said. She moved to her school bag and grabbed her own. “Then that settles it! We can go look for our classmates and meet up here-then at the end of the day I could play piano for everyone!” She said matter-of-factly, with that, she stood from her desk, handbook in hand and determination in her eyes. 

You didn’t really understand the whole piano part, but if she really wants to then you guess it’s fine.

The blonde sallied forth towards the door as you and your second companion grabbed your handbooks and left the desks. Kaede already left the classroom, barging ahead, by the time you made it to the door. Your hands brushed the sliding doors as you moved to the hallway, but you stopped in your tracks. You didn’t notice it before, too busy trying to remedy the situation at hand, but soft sniffles could be heard in the back of the classroom if you strained your ears. 

You looked and saw the red head you noticed before, snoring softly with a witch’s hat atop her head. _Why are so many people wearing hats?!_

But you didn’t see anyone else, at least at first. But at the corner of your eye, you noticed vibrant blue hair. The girl in question was seated in the back of your row, eyes glazed with tears and...was that drool? 

“Um…”, you spoke up, ”Are you..okay?” 

She moved her glasses and wiped her eyes, smile gleaming, “Yep, I’m totally fine! I’ve just never seen something like that before!”

“Um..what?”

“That type of teamwork and togetherness! That scene was straight from a shounen anime!” 

“Nothing really happened though?--nevermind, do you want to help out then? The school’s pretty big, so it would be nice if there were more people.”

She gave you a sullen look and held her face in her hands, “ I don’t think I would be much help-I’m too plain, I’ll probably just be in the way..” Even though her words were pretty self-deprecating, she kept a small smile on her face the whole time. Odd.

You heard Kaede’s voice sing out from the hallway, _“Come on! We don’t have time to lose!”_

You surveyed the classroom one last time before you turned to leave.

~

“Oh! We should probably introduce ourselves before we go any further, right?” 

Break had only just begun, so there wasn’t as many students bustling around like usual. And with the spring heat soon on the horizon, most made a smart decision to stay inside. You couldn’t help but think it looked pretty beautiful-the courtyard- the sky a gleaming blue with no clouds in sight. _Maybe, you think, I should spend time outside more often._

 _….nah, maybe not._  
For the past few minutes, you and the boy were following your blonde companion to the main courtyard(not exactly following per se, more like she would go in the wrong direction and you’d have to correct her to not get lost in the maze of a school while you stayed stationed behind her). One thing the boy next to you noticed is that in the middle of the courtyard, next to a fountain, is a map. 

You always thought it was just some plaque. You’ve only seen the map from far away because all the flower bushes in the courtyard were along the perimeter, not the center, and the only reason you stayed in the courtyard was to examine the flowers. Apparently, the only places Kaede has been to so far is the music room, two of the three lunch rooms, and the classroom. The other boy seemed to have checked the school out in its entirety sometime last week. 

Once the map was in sight, Kaede came to a stop and turned around to see you both. 

“I’ll start first! My name is Akamatsu Kaede and I’m the **Ultimate Pianist**! It’s nice to meet you both! 

You cocked your head in thought, ”Ultimate Pianist….ah, that makes sense why you want to play piano for the class..”

“Yep!..but most people call me piano freak instead of the Ultimate Pianist,”Kaede said, a soft laugh accompanied the slight flush to her cheeks. After a quizzical look from you and the boy next to you, see continued on, voice bubbly.” Ever since I was a kid I’d always play piano-in fact sometimes I’d forget to eat or sleep.” You slowly nodded your head as she finished. It made sense, sometimes, when you were so involved with your research, eating and sleeping are the last things in your mind. 

Kaede looked to you both expectantly, waiting for your introductions as well. You especially didn’t want to go first, just thinking about it made your palms clammy and your chest thump-

“I’m...Saihara Shuichi. I’m the **Ultimate Detective** , I suppose..”He trailed off,“It’s nice to meet you both.” Shuichi’s voice was quieter than before, stiff as he gave a slight bow.

A…..detective? Based on what you’ve noticed for the past 30 minutes is that his body language seemed to scream ‘please don’t look at me!’ and he hasn’t even looked either of you in the eye-not that you could tell since that hat was in the way anyways’. When you thought detective, you pictured a calm, cool, and collected Sherlock Holmes. A detective as Shuichi’s talent was the last thing you expected-which meant that there’s a high chance that he’s pretty good then.  
Or.. at least you hoped. 

You gave Shuichi a smile, moving your hands to your coat pockets, accompanying Kaede’s, ‘That’s amazing!’, with your ‘That’s really impressive!’ and ‘Nice to meet you too..’

You were met with owlish eyes and a bright smile as both heads turned towards you. Without your permission, your back straightened and face heated with both pairs of eyes focused on you. To stall, you quickly coughed into your hand and looked away before centering yourself.

“Well...I’m Tsukimoto ____ and I’m the **Ultimate Chemist**.” After a light pause, you bowed halfway. “It’s nice to meet the both of you..”

Kaede piped up first. Leaning closer to you, she grabbed the tail end of your lab coat, admiring it briefly before meeting your gaze. “Oh! It makes sense why you’d wear this then, right? This screams _‘I’m a scientist!’_.”

“Um...thanks?”

“W-well”, Shuichi starts, fixing the bill of his hat downwards as he skims his student handbook, ”The handbook shows us everyone’s picture and name...it doesn’t exactly help on actually finding the students..” 

There’s a moment of silence while you three ruminate on this. You close your eyes as you think before opening them again and facing your classmates.

“We could just try to find them using their talents--like a martial artist would probably be in one of the dojos and a chef would be in the dining hall- so on and so forth.” You say simply.

Shuichi looked up from his student handbook with surprise and a small sound of acknowledgment. “Ah.”, Shuichi said, ”that sounds..like a smart idea.”

~

The one thing you pride yourself on the most was your intellect. 

It was your most charming feature, the one thing that gave you instant praise from adults during Dr.Tsukimoto's dinner parties. The one thing that gave you grants from stupidly rich people in stocks and prominent figures at universities. The one thing that’s kept you from being six-feet under yet. 

But the second you looked away from the map in the courtyard and moved back inside to navigate the halls and relayed the information in your head, you’ve come to realize something.

You were lost. Terribly, horribly lost. And you were an idiot. 

The three of you thought it to be best to head for the dojo hall first, seeing as it was the closest from the courtyard it would be the easiest to find. 

But after opening the wide doors back inside, it was as if the brisk a/c wiped all your memories clean, and not a single concrete memory of the map stayed in any of your heads. 

Once you all circled around the same set of classrooms for a good ten minutes, Shuichi thought it to be best to head to the first cafeteria, since someone was bound to be there. 

You made haste towards the cafeteria before a familiar face caught your eye in the hallway.

You gawked as you came closer to the upcoming hall, slowing to a stop. Almost all of the hallway floor was covered in porcelain white towels. It would have appalling to see such clean towels on a very not clean, super dirty floor. But the floor was impeccable also. Your slippers squeaked across it as you walked...you could even see your own reflection. 

In the center of the mountain of pure white cotton, sat a girl with regal posture and well kept smoky hair diligently folding towels at record time. 

_Even Mrs.Tsukimoto can’t fold towels that fast!_

Based on what you’ve seen, and the picture on your handbook screen, it could only be one person. 

“Excuse me! Sorry for interrupting but...are you Tojo-san?”

Kaede careened over the stack of towels as you asked her, chancing a better glimpse of your classmates face.

Initially, the steel hair girls’ gaze struck through you, seeming hostile at first, before being met with warm celadon. 

“Yes, is there anything you’d like to request of me?”

“Um..no?” That was the last response you thought you’d receive. If it wasn’t for her docile tone, you would’ve thought she was annoyed. 

Shuichi treads over to you in the midst of your confusion, positioning his student handbook in his grip to where both of you could see. “Tojo Kirumi is the **Ultimate Maid** \- it’s rumored that her work is so perfect, she could complete can request given to her.”

“Wait-Saihara-san, how do you know this?” You eyed him, not out of malice, but pure curiosity. 

He shoulders briefly sprung up in surprise as if the sudden question caught him off guard. Shuichi promptly powered off his student handbook, keeping it at his side. “O-oh!..I’ve heard of her in the news before..”  
...People still watched the news? 

“Wha-you’re that amazing?!” Kaede’s cheeks flushed lightly in awe as she ambled closer to Kirumi, where you and the detective were standing. 

“Please, that is an exaggeration. I only take a request that I can complete to the best of my abilities. I once received a request to annihilate a rival nation, but as it was impossible-I rejected it.”  
The meer notion that a highschool girl was even _considered_ to take down a nation in itself was jaw-dropping, if not a bit terrifying. But it wasn’t that hard to believe. Just by briefly surveying not only the towels, but the whole corridor, you could see the tremendous dedication and detail she put into the task. Every fold on each towel included thought and precision you didn’t possess. Every tile on the floor buffed to rival a mirrors perfection.  
You’ve only seen her work for the smallest of seconds and it already took your breath away.

“Even so! Being requested to do that is super impressive!”, Kaede said,” But, we shouldn’t get off topic here!” 

Kaede (with some added help of you and Shuichi)animatedly recounted the events that unfolded earlier that day and you three’s new found quest. She detailed on wanting to form bonds with all sixteen of you, anticipating on three years filled with memories she’ll hold dear to her forever. 

Kirumi didn’t respond for a beat, processing the information as she absentmindedly folded a towel on her lap. You hoped, prayed even, she said yes. The more people running around campus tracking down your classmates means the quicker you could go back to your seat and finish your report. The quicker you finish your report, the quicker you can receive more funding, the quicker you could go back to the lab and do more research!

After creating a new stack of towels, Kirumi rose from her seat and removed the apron around her waist. “Yes, of course, I will gather the remaining students in the halls as well. Is there anything else you would like to request?” Kirumi met Kaede’s gaze. Then Shuichi’s, and then yours, taking time to study you three.

“N-no-I think we’re fine. Thank you.”Said Shuichi.

Kirumi nod’s and lifts two large stacks of towels from the floor before striding past you and out of the corridor. From the corner of your vision, you see Kaede’s hands raised slightly, most likely to interject and help her with the load in her hands. But before you all knew it, she was out of sight.

“Well…”You looked to your companions, wide-eyed, ”Should we head back to the classroom?”

You peer at Shuichi and he nods, fingers fiddling with the handbook in his hands as you both look to Kaede.  
“Akamatsu-san, what do you think?”

Her gaze is lowered to the floor with her hand holding her chin, thinking, and in a flourish, she lifts her head and says ‘No’.

You were already slowly moving your heels in the opposite direction to backtrack to the classroom when you stopped in your tracks.

“Eh?” 

“Why not?”

“Kirumi can’t look for twelve people all by herself”, Kaede says and turns away, starting up her student handbook, ”we should help.”

You blinked and studied her for a beat before turning back to Shuichi, who you found not meeting either of your gazes, instead he fixing the bill of his cap. _Again._

The rational part of you knows this is correct. And it probably wouldn’t take much time to wander a bit more and spot a classmate here and there in the process-but you’re sure it’s been at least an hour, which equivalates to an hour gone from your paper-and an _hour gone from that stupid research paper is an hour gone from going back to the lab, and your tired of running around, and this plan was honestly stupid anyway, and you just want to go back and look at the breathtaking periodic table with the actual elements on it, and the lab, and the paper, and-_

You stood your ground.

“But she said she could! She’s a maid!”You said. Without your permission, stubbornness seemed to wash across your face and you dialed back a bit, being mindful of your volume, ”By the time we make it to the room, I’m _positive_ everyone will be there.”

“Just because she can doesn't mean she has to”, Kaede seemed to be taken aback, not expecting a retort before pinching her nose and replying back, crossing her arms, ”Don’t you feel a little bad by making her look all on her own?”

“I-well I mean...maybe a _little_..”

It _did_ , actually, make you feel bad-but she offered to find everyone else, and it’s not like you had any way of communicating with her. What if she scours every part of campus, only to find that everyone in class is waiting for her? Wouldn’t she feel stupid? So..wouldn’t it be better to just go back to class?

As much as you didn’t want to seem selfish-you really didn’t want to do this anymore and would rather go back to the laboratories and do something else entirely. Even if in reality, you only found one person, _but that's besides the point._

Honestly? Maybe you shouldn’t have come to class today.

You gnawed at your lip as you thought to yourself, debating your options. How would you not come off as an asshole to your new...acquaintances if you abstained from helping at all?

You went to speak before Shuichi unintentionally cut you off. 

“Maybe..”, He starts, a faraway look in his eye as he thinks.”We search for a few more people just to ease the workload?”

Shuichi finally looks towards you for an answer you don’t give before looking towards Kaede who takes in both of your inputs.

She gave a pause before saying anything back to either of you,” Three more people--then we have them help as well, how ‘bout it Tsukimoto-san?”

Her smile is weary and doesn’t exactly meets her eyes as she looks to you. The proposition didn’t seem too bad...and if finding one person wasn’t too hard...maybe three more wouldn’t be as much work as you originally thought it to be?

Her smile, even if it seemed somewhat fake, was getting to you as you slowly relented and before you knew it a soft smile of your own was slowly creeping upon your face. Kaede’s face beamed as she saw your resolve cracking. 

Three people, maybe even four, then you're done.

You sighed, albeit overdramatically, and slackened your posture a smidge.

“Okay-but only three!”

A smile grew on Shuichi’s face as well.

With this, Kaede seemed to fist pump the air as she turned, marching to the rest of your classmates. After a second of hesitation, Shuichi followed quickly behind her and faltered in his step suddenly, facing you. 

“You are coming..right?”

With a nod, you ambled behind.


	2. Hypothesis: two steps back (part i)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka: the class little to no direction, which calls for a leader! and you can never be left alone in peace

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you to everyone for the comments and feedback i recieved on the last chapter, it really means alot to me!! Sadly right after i posted that, school slapped me hard across the face and i had little time to write again ORZ. Luckily now, finals are right around the corner, which means pretty soon i'll have a good three or so months to update!! So, I hope you all can stick around for that!  
> This chapter had been sitting in my wips for a long while, and it's almost 14 pages,,,i decided since its getting pretty lengthy, i might seperate it into 2-3 parts, let me know what you want to see!!  
> until then, i hope you enjoy part one of chapter 2!

_April 15, 2019_

**Akamatsu Kaede** : tsuki!!!

**Akamatsu Kaede** : class starts in 10 mins pls show up!

**You** : ???

**You** : hob did u find my number

**You** : *how

**Akamatsu Kaede** : ( ￣＾￣) 

**Akamatsu Kaede** : thats not important rn!

**Akamatsu Kaede** : you didnt show up yesterday so its best to come td!!

**You** : that’s preppy important…

**You** : *pretty

**You** : + showed day b4 yestergay 

**You** : *yesterbay

**You** : YESTERDAY

**Akamatsu Kaede** : lol where are you??

**You** : in lab

**Akamatsu Kaede** : agh

**You** : hard 2 type w glov 

**Akamatsu Kaede** : youre always in the those labs u need to go to class to yknow

**Akamatsu Kaede** : youll miss classwork!!

**You** : ???i bo to class? n classwork not always mandatory

**Akamatsu Kaede** : ‘boing’ to class occasionally is not going to class!

**Akamatsu Kaede** : if you don’t show up soon im bringing u here myself

**Akamatsu Kaede** : i mean it!(-`д´-)/ 

**You** : ….

**You** : fine

**Akamatsu Kaede** : ♡＾▽＾♡ ty!!

\--

Your eyes glazed over with contemplation as you stared at the message sent, idly rotating the test tube in your gloved hands as you gazed down on it. 

A huff passed your lips and you unconsciously went to palm your forehead before mentally stopping yourself. The _last_ thing you needed was nitric acid all over your face, not only would it be melted and all your hair gone, but Kaede would probably patronize you about _that_ too. 

Albeit reluctantly, you cleaned up your station; throwing the goggles under the U.V lamps in the back and lazily placing the gloves and the dust mask in the hazardous waste bin before moving all the acids and equipment back where you found it. 

A few days had passed since your little scavenger hunt across the school(not _exactly_ little, you were sadly still roped into finding everyone in the end), and to you, in particular, all appeared to be well. Your classmates attended class semi-regularly if not all the time, which was an _exponential_ improvement from just five people and the dust bunny in the corner. You occasionally attended class, had small talk with your classmates...more or less, and did enough classwork to not fall behind. Plus, you were able to finish your report and start on a different experiment entirely! Based on your findings, the world was at perfect equilibrium. 

Or at least to you.

One thing that you learned about Akamatsu Kaede is that she could be a bit... _pushy_ with her ideals. Not that she had any ill-intent, or at least not any that you could find, but she was extremely adamant on creating a strong bond between the seventeen of you. 

And it wasn’t as if you opposed this-you would like to have some kind of relationship with your classmates- but it should come naturally! She’s planting flowers and expecting them to blossom with no water!

The first few time she reprimanded you on attending class was okay, it annoyed the _hell_ out of you, but it was livable. Now, it was an annoying itch at your side that wouldn’t go away no matter how much you scratched it. The whole situation was _irritating_. 

Sadly, there's no itch cream for not wanting to socialize.

You fiddled with the lab coat around your form as a lackluster expression etched across your face. 

For the second time today(and certainly not the last) you sighed, and left the laboratory. 

~  
Compared to the somewhat empty corridors, the homeroom was warm with kind, animated chatter. 

“Ah! Tsukimoto-chan you’re her-Ugh?! You smell like chemicals! _Gross_ ~”

Well, most of it was warm chatter.

The purple gremlin pinched his nose in mock disgust, a smirk curling across his face. 

“Hey-that’s not true! _I sprayed perfume this time_!!”

Kokichi gave you a breathless chuckle, enjoying your reaction as he swung his legs from where he sat on his desk,” I know, I knooow! It was a lie!” 

The rest of your classmates greeted you as you closed the door, awkwardly shuffling to your seat. Kaede turned to face you as you sat, giving a thumbs up while Shuichi greeted you with a shy wave, manilla folder closed in his hands. You all spoke amongst yourselves, conversing about your mornings and plans for the evening. Apparently, Kaede had spent all morning gathering everyone into the classroom and Shuichi was finishing off a case he received before the school year started. 

A low, stifled yawn broke through the classes banter, causing everyone to trail off their conversations. Your attention swiftly moved from your classmate’s faces to the noise at the teacher’s desk. 

A lanky man with shaggy blonde hair rose from his seat, meandering to the podium at the front of the room. Almost out of nowhere, he took an off-white fedora from behind him and fixed it upon his head. With a cough(which you presumed was fake) he began to speak in a jaded tone as his eyes read a paper in front of his vision. 

“Hmmm…..Akamatsu-chan, is this everyone?” Koichi Kizakura muttered. 

Kizakura-sensei is not who you would consider a teacher. Not only did he seem relaxed out of his mind most of the time, but he also wasn’t even here to at least greet your class on the first day of attending Hope’s Peak. Which you would have thought was important enough to show up to if you’re gonna, you know, _be absent every consecutive day after that._

After some digging and heckling from your part(and Tenko’s, who threaten to drop kick him when he entered the room unceremoniously in the middle of the afternoon), you found that he was the homeroom teacher to the 77-B class, but was recently replaced due to ‘unexplained circumstances’. 

Just from a whiff of his breath, you knew it had something to do with whiskey and very, _very_ , late nights.

Kaede craned her head and softly counted to herself, brows arched.”Yep, that’s all sixteen of us.”

“Sixteen..?” Kizakura surveyed the sheet he had in his hands, looking back in forth between your classmates and the paper.

You were sure that there had always been seventeen of you. From looking at the student handbook, it had clearly said that seventeen students were in your class.

You turned your head and began to count. 

There’s you, Shuichi, and Kaede. Which makes three.

There’s Kiibo, who was having an abrasive conversation with Kokichi, who was being cursed at by Kaito, who were all getting a glare from Maki. That made seven.

There’s Tenko, who was having an animated conversation with a sleepy Himiko. That made nine. 

There’s Miu, who was making suggestive comments to the whole class while Tsumugi was covering Gonta’s ears. Which is twelve.

Then there’s Angie, who was talking about the mess she made in the hallway to Kirumi, who wrote the information down with Ryoma next to her, who sighed, and Korekiyo, who surveyed the whole debacle. 

….That made sixteen students in the 79th class in total...that’s odd. 

“Nyeh….did someone get away with skipping.., Himiko rubbed her eyes,” That’s not fair-I wanna leave too..”

Kizakura blinked as his eyes trained on the paper at hand, reading it verbatim, _‘Due to unfortunate circumstances, this student will likely be absent for the foreseeable future’_ ….huh...I guess that’ll have to do then.”

With deft fingers, he folded the paper into a neat rectangle and shoved it into his pocket as you all looked on with raised brows. For a beat, Kizakura stays slouched on the podium, meeting your gazes. You wait for him to start the class, but...nothing came. He just stood there. And if you squint, you could see his eyes slowly drooping…

“Ah! I almost forgot…”Kizakura stepped away from the podium revealing a bubbly picture on the chalkboard behind him. 

In blush pink and spring yellow were the words **‘Class Representative’** with cartoonish mascots drawn next to it. It was kind of hard to read, with the colors being so bright, but at the very bottom was a date four days from now:

**April 19, 2019.**

~  
“None of us know each other that well anyways”, You prodded the food in front of you with your chopsticks,” Sooo...I doubt I’d have a good answer until Thursday at the least..” 

Kirumi was extremely adamant on learning each and every one of your classmates' preferences for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You didn’t really expect much to come of it (you were barely paying attention to the questions she was asking), so you could only imagine the expression on your face when she personally handed you a steaming plate of okonomiyaki and iced green tea. You felt a little bad on taking the food, but what were you supposed to do when she gave you with such an earnest face! You had no choice! 

Kokichi continued to shovel tempura shrimp into his bottomless pit of a mouth. As he talked, crumbs from his cheeks fell onto your desk. You continued to sweep them away as they came, but at this point, it seems like he’s just doing it on purpose. 

Smirking, Kokichi pointed his fork towards his chest,” _Pfff_ -obviously, dear Tsuki-chan, I am the best candidate.” 

“ _Worst_. You would be the _worst_ candidate. If we all picked you, I wouldn’t be surprised if this classroom was up in flames in two months!”  
Kokichi was probably-no scratch that-Kokichi is the one person in your class that you would never pick for class representative. You haven’t interacted with him much before, not because you’ve avoided him, but you’ve actually never had the chance. You weren’t looking for one anyway, it didn’t take much wandering in the dormitories to hear how he’s wreaked havoc on your peers. You’ve been checking the back of your lab coat for days on end since you caught wind of Kaito (literally) getting his ass kicked by upperclassmen that seen a ‘kick me’ sign on his back. 

“Awww…,” his tone was morose, but that impish grin was still etched on his face,” but I’m the ultimate supreme _leader_ , I’m a hundred percent sure that makes me waaay better than anyone else! You should at least know that by now~” 

“I wouldn’t pick you even if you were the _ultimate class rep_ ,” you paused to chew your food,” besides, isn’t a supreme leader, like, a dictator or some-” 

“-Whateves! Talent doesn’t matter! What we _really_ need to focus on, are those who are pure at heart!” He looked you dead in the eyes as he tossed his fork on your plate and used the same hand to pound the table; he used his other fist to grasp at his chest.”We need somebody who’d always have the class’ best interest first, Tsuki-chan! Somebody-” 

“-Who isn’t you-and _stop calling me that!”_

“Whaaaat? Tsu-,” You held your chopsticks over your head, ready to hit him,” okay!okay!But just because I’m the leader of a super, _super_ , secret evil organization that specializes in the worst acts of all humanity doesn’t mean I don’t do it all with the kindness of my heart!” 

With the number of jabs, jests, and fibs he threw out on a daily basis, it was easy to grow speechless when talking to Kokichi. In most conversations you’ve had with others, you would allow a lull to seep into the spaces you didn’t speak, a moment for you to gather your thoughts. But with the quick change of tone, facial expressions, and movements, he never gave you time to create one cohesive thought. Which, all in all, frustrated you to no end. 

Your eyes stayed glued to his as you deadpanned, feeling your face go warm as you refused to give him a response. Kokichi’s sneer seemed to grow larger and larger. 

“Fine, fiiiiiiiiiine~,” he says pouting, folding his arms behind his head,” I lied. It’d be a terrible idea to pick me! The amount of mayhem I’d cause would probs lead to my assassination.” 

“Wooow,” mockingly, you rose your brows as sarcasm coated the edges of your words,” I’m glad you’ve finally looked reason right in its fair face. It warms my heart.” 

“However!” 

_Dear God!_

“Since I’ll sadly be stepping down from my fated position, I think it’s only fair for me to recommend the next candidate….” 

His face was a total blank slate, a clear canvas, but at this point, you knew it was just the calm before the violet storm that capsizes your ship of patience. If you gazed just a little more intently at his face, you could see the quiver at the corner of his lips. 

“If you don’t mind me asking”, you said, exasperated,” who is it, exactly?” 

“My bestest pal Gonta-chan, of course!” A boisterous sneeze from the hallway startled you both, pulling your attention away from the conversation momentarily. When he spoke again, you moved back to face him.”That guy’s gonna have zero votes, tops. The least we could do as his best friends is make him a pity rep. Just a little somethin’ to brighten up poor Gonta-chan’s day!” 

You didn’t speak for a moment, taken aback. Of all the names you’ve thought would leave his lips, Gonta’s was not one of them, but then again, what were you to expect with Kokichi? 

This isn’t an insult to Gonta in any way, at least you don’t think it is, he is smart in certain aspects (aspects you weren’t exactly _fond_ of.If his ants keep finding their way to your desk one more time, you’re bathing the classroom in insecticide), but it doesn’t exactly...extend to complex thought. You didn’t really want to admit it to yourself, but Kokichi was right in a way. Gonta’s probably the last person in everyone’s list for class representative. 

“I mean...I guess? But just because he’s less likely to be picked doesn’t mean we should all vote for him willy-nilly, Ouma-kun”, you tilted your head,” this is pretty important. It wouldn’t be a good idea to do ‘pity reps’.” 

“Not even for dear-gullible-Gonta?,” chirped Kokichi. “Dear-dear-future-DICE member-Gonta-chan?”. 

“Wha..?” Future DICE member? You didn’t really understand what he was referring to until realization came hit like diethylzinc and oxygen, abruptly and unstable. “Wait a minute! I’m absolutely not picking Gonta-kun for your _petty pranks_!” 

Kokichi rose his hands in mock surrender. “I would never do that to poor Gonta-chan, I swear! Cross my heart! Scout’s honor!” 

Eyes flashing, you shoved the remainder of your belongs into your school bag, preparing to leave the classroom. 

“Yes, you would! We’d elect Gonta-kun as president, and then this whole class would turn into a monarchy!”, Kokichi tried to hold back a snicker, but it was leaking from the corner of his lips,” Gonta-kun would become a muscular figurehead, while you're the grimy guy manipulating from behind the scenes!”. /p>

By the time you made it halfway to the doorway, Kokichi was sputtering, tears in the corner of his eyes from laughter, “H-hey! Tsuki-chan, where are you going!?”, He stood, before thinking better of it and sat on his desk. “If you don’t like it we could always pick _moi_ ~” 

“I’m leaving”, you said, frustrated,” I stayed to talk nonsense with you for too long, I need to work on something in the lab.” 

“Huh? Already? But I barely even gotta talk to you, Tsuki-chan! “ 

“Good. Let's keep it that wa-” You meant to open the door, leave the classroom and hideout in the science hall for the rest of the day. Instead, your face was met with the cool a/c from the corridors and your ass hitting the floor as you unceremoniously fell backward from the force of the door moving so abruptly. 

Groaning and rubbing your bottom, you glanced up, only to be met with lavender eyes and daisy hair. _Oh, no_ …. 

“Tsukimoto-chan! W-what were you doing? Are you okay?” 

“...” You didn’t respond initially, if she knew where you were heading, you were sure to get an earful. Gently, Kaede took you by the wrist and helped you up, dusting off your uniform in the process. 

“Geez...Tsukimoto-chan, please watch where you’re going next time!” She chided. 

“Y-yeah will do!” You made a quick motion with your arms, signaling that you’re leaving the classroom, but she doesn’t budge from her position in the doorway. Kaede raises a brow. 

“..Why are you leaving in such a hurry anyway? What are you up to?” _damnit_

“Nothing incriminating. That’s for sure.” _double damnit_! 

You shrugged a little as you spoke, laughing nervous as you forced your body to appear nonchalant or some type of normal that would persuade Kaede to _finally_ let you be. 

You were honestly growing tired of this back and forth that's been growing over the past week, but every time she confronted you about your constant absence, it was as if your mind shriveled up and flew away. No matter how much it infuriated you, a valid response could never leave your mouth in time and you’re destined to spend six hours in the one room you loathed. 

Kaede gave you a look you didn’t know how to categorize. Somewhere between apprehension and slight disappointment. “You’re not going where I think you’re going…, right?” 

You pressed your school bag a little closer to you. 

“Um, that depends...where do you think I’m going?” You replied. 

In a last ditch effort to escape this situation entirely, you sidestepped from your original position, trying to find an opening in the doorway for a quick escape. With a ‘H-hey!’, Kaede moved in time with you, irritation clearly painted on her face. This went on for thirty seconds before she blocked the door from view. 

“Wait a minute-you’re going to the labs again, aren't you!?”,since her legs and arms covering the doorway, she couldn’t point an accusatory finger like she normally would. (you could still hear it in her voice, though.) 

“N-no I wasn’t! I was heading toooo...the bathroom! I need to use the bathroom!” 

Kokichi laid his upper body on the desk before laughing,” Nope! That liar was _definitely_ heading to the lab! She just told me!” 

_Damn him!!_

Kaede gave you a pointed stare. 

“W-wait a minute! _He’s_ the liar-- a-are you really going to believe him, Akamatsu-san?!” 

Kaede kept her pointed stare. 

“A-akamatsu-san?” 

You hear a sly chuckle leave her lips as she turns and closes the door with a sharp _‘clink!’_ , and faces you. Her smile was too sugary to be good. 

“If he’s lying, then you wouldn’t mind staying here, right?”, She took a step forward and automatically you took a step a back. It was as if she was the predator and you were the prey, being backed into a corner. And you knew exactly where this was going to end. 

“There’s still thirty minutes of break left, Tsukimoto-chan, so you can stay a bit, right?” 

For the third time that day, you sighed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again im so sorry for the late update!, with the chapter being broken up, i already have part of part 2 done, so it should be out soon!  
> now with kaede, i tried to make sure she wasn't the 'villian' to the reader,,,bc she's not, but something i noticed from the game is that she can be pretty pushy with her ideals, which is something i tried to show here! Im also trying to sort out dynamics between the reader and the classmates, so some of the chapters maybe abt bonding mostly before we reach the meat of the story (don't worry, some of it will be pretty important!!)
> 
> as a side note, i am considering doing a little story with the sdr2 cast, so if anyone would like to see that, pls let me know!  
> and of course if you'd like to talk to me abt the story or dr in general, dont be afraid to drop an ask at my tumblr @ hopesodas ! see you at the next update!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for sticking around and reading the full chapter! here are somethings I want to get across  
> 1\. If you wanna speak dingle roberts to me, don't be shy to leave an ask on hopesodas on the blue hell site (tumblr) I'd love to discuss the story I'm writing and dr as a whole!  
> 2.Sorry I didn't introduce every character in the chapter! everyone (except for 1 person due to plot reasons) will be introduced in the next one, this only includes main characters.  
> 3\. This is, of course, a slow burn, so the reader n Shuichi didn't really talk together much..because its a slow burn and 4. I plan on separating the whole story I'm writing into two parts- this is nondespair au in the sense that the neo world program killing game never occurs, however, almost everything else dr0 happens. most of the stuff in dr0 is gonna occur in this but it will be explained so you don't necessarily have to have read it before hand....but it would help a lot.  
> 5.and of course, you've probably noticed the reader has a last name, I gave it to them originally because I have my own dr oc-but then kept it bc family actually plays a role in the plot! (that's why a dr.tsukimoto was mentioned n so on + I don't like a lot of blanks..) and bc this is set in Japan, they are gonna call the reader by their last name for a bit.
> 
> anyways thanks for reading and I hope you stick around for chapter 2!!


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